Concepts and definitions
- Discontinuation of education
In the statistics on discontinuation of education discontinuation refers to discontinuation of post-comprehensive school education leading to a qualification.
Data concerning discontinuation of education are obtained by examining the situation of students having attended education in September XXXX in September XXXX+1. If a person has not continued education or obtained a qualification during this period, he/she is counted as having discontinued education.
- Education
Education refers here to education leading to a qualification or degree.
Education leading to a qualification or degree (qualification or degree-oriented education)refers to education leading to the completion of the full syllabus of comprehensive school (school-leaving certificate), completion of the full syllabus of upper secondary general school (matriculation examination certificate), International Baccalaureate certificate, Reifeprüfung certificate, European Baccalaureate certificate, Gymnasieexamen certificate, initial vocational qualification, basic vocational qualification, specialist vocational qualification, polytechnic degree, higher polytechnic degree or university degree.
Education leading to a qualification or degree is classified by the classification of education.
- Educational institution
An educational institution refers to an administrative unit with a principal or other head, which has teachers and other personnel in its service (role of employers), and which is liable to keep books and compile other documentation, in which students are registered, whose activities are regulated by a legal act or decree, which follows a national curriculum, and which is financed and controlled by a public authority. An educational institution does not refer to a school building or facility. A new educational institution is established, an educational institution is abolished or merged with another educational institution at the decision of the organiser of education (maintainer of the educational institution) or a public authority.
Statistics Finland has assigned an individualised educational institution ID to each educational institution. Educational institutions are classified according to a classification of types of educational institutions.
- Educational system
The Finnish educational system is comprised of the following:
Pre-primary education is provided in Finland to children between the ages of three and six, usually at children's day care homes. Some 6-year-old children receive pre-primary education in comprehensive schools. Attendance of pre-primary education is voluntary.
Comprehensive school education is general knowledge education provided for entire age cohorts. All children permanently resident in Finland must attend compulsory education. Compulsory education starts in the year of the child's seventh birthday.
Compulsory education finishes when the syllabus of comprehensives school education has been completed (9-year comprehensive school), or 10 years from the start of compulsory education. In exceptional cases compulsory education may start already at the age of six and last 11 years due to a disability or illness. A student who has received a leaving certificate from comprehensive school in the same year or in the year before it may continue to attend optional additional education (10th grade).Post-comprehensive school education, or upper secondary general education and vocational education represent secondary level of education. Upper secondary general school education is education leading to a matriculation examination. Its scope is three years and it gives general eligibility to further education. Vocational education can be either educational institution-based or apprenticeship training. In apprenticeship training, most of the studying is comprised of learning through practical work tasks at a workplace. The qualifications are initial vocational qualifications attained in three years, which also give general eligibility to further polytechnic or university studies.
Further and specialist vocational qualifications represent further vocational education. They, as well as initial vocational qualifications can be attained in a skills examination that can be taken irrespective of the way of acquisition of professional skills, and in which skills can be proven on the basis of preparatory education for a skills examination or work experience.
Attainment of polytechnic degrees takes 3.5 to 4.5 years and higher polytechnic degrees requiring work practice 1-1.5 years. Attainment of lower university degrees takes three years while higher university degrees take two years longer. Attainers of higher level university degrees may continue their studies to licentiate and doctorate level degrees.
- Sector of education
In the statistics on educational institutions, education is divided into the following sectors of education:
- Comprehensive school education
- Upper secondary general education
- Vocational education
- Polytechnic education
- University education.
- Student
In the statistics on discontinuation of education, when discontinuation is examined in the academic year XXXX-XXXX+1, students refer to the students attending post-comprehensive education leading to a qualification or degree and registered at educational institutions on 20 September XXXX with the exception of the following groups:
1) Persons with an incomplete personal ID
2)Persons having been reported as students in September XXXX but having already completed the education concerned before September XXXX
3) Educational institutions abolished in the years XXXX-XXXX+1
4) Education reported by an educational institution as being adult education
5) Students having started upper secondary general education or vocational education studies five years earlier than in XXXX
6) Post secondary and vocational tertiary level education
7) Preparatory education for a skills examination
8) Apprenticeship training
9) Vocational special needs education institutions
10) Students of polytechnic Master's degree
11) Students of licentiate, doctorate and medical specialist's degrees.
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Discontinuation of education [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-9302. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 24.5.2013].
Access method: http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/kkesk/kas_en.html.
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